folk music

Pete Seeger: The Power of Song

American Masters presents a special in memoriam broadcast of the 2008 documentary Pete Seeger: The Power of Song beginning Thursday, January 30, 2014, at 7:30 pm (ET/PT) nationwide on PBS. This first authorized film biography poetically documents Pete Seeger’s unique experience and contributions to folk music and society. Seeger (May 3, 1919 – Jan. 27, […]

The Day Carl Sandburg Died

Hear Carl Sandburg sing, ‘I Ride an Old Paint,’ recorded sometime in the 1930s or 40s, and published as a part of his The American Songbag. Sandburg: ‘The song smells of saddle leather, sketches ponies and landscapes, and varies in theme from a realistic presentation of the drab Bill Jones and his violent wife to an ethereal prayer and cry of phantom tone.’

Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune

Three-time Emmy®-nominated filmmaker Kenneth Bowser examines one of American history’s most iconic folk music heroes and political agitators. Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune is a revealing biography of a conflicted, truth-seeking troubadour who, with guitar in hand, stood up for what he believed in and challenged us all to do the same. Watch the […]

Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune

Emmy Award nominated director Kenneth Bowser explains why he chose to make a documentary about Phil Ochs, why he seems to have been written out of the history of folk music, and the unique way that Ochs’ music marries activism and his personal life. Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune premieres Monday, January 23 at […]

Troubadours: Carole King / James Taylor & The Rise of the Singer-Songwriter

American Masters congratulates Morgan Neville, director of the 2011 American Masters film Troubadours: Carole King/James Taylor & The Rise of the Singer-Songwriter, for winning the 2014 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature for 20 Feet from Stardom. Watch the full 90-minute documentary Troubadours: Carole King / James Taylor & The Rise of the Singer-Songwriter, below. The […]

Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind

Tom Manoff, Classical Music Critic of NPR’s ALL THINGS CONSIDERED on Joni Mitchell Excerpts from his book Music: A Living Language (WW Norton and Co, 1982) I want the full hyphen: folk-rock-country-jazz-classical, so finally when you get all the hyphens in, maybe they’ll drop them all, and get down to just some American music. -Joni […]